


The Ping Pack and the Loud Crowd

by Araitsume



Category: Detentionaire (Cartoon), The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternative Perspective, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Experimental Style, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other, Retelling, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-04-25 22:30:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14388450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Araitsume/pseuds/Araitsume
Summary: A nearly 5-year-old Lee Ping had encountered his new next-door neighbors, a large (and still growing) family that would definitely live up to their namesake. Little did he know that they would have a profound impact on her life, especially the little snow-haired baby boy and the similarly-aged musical girl of the family. Expect crossover pairings and bizarre ideas (Lee/Luna/Harem).





	1. Introduction: A Primer on What to Expect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee and Lincoln dispense with the legalities.

**A Primer on What to Expect**

In the beginning, there was darkness. But it didn’t last long as a spotlight pierced it, illuminating a large set of red stage curtains. This was the cue for two figures to come into view, each approaching from the sides of the spotlight circle. Once they were fully visible, the pair now standing next to each other was revealed to consist of young male specimens in formal attire and brown dress shoes, but that was where their similarities ended.

The first major difference involved their height, with one’s head just barely reaching the other’s chin; this is more of an indication of their age-gap than anything else. The younger’s suit was light blue with an orange necktie & white dress-shirt, while the elder’s was dark green with a red necktie & black dress-shirt. They also differed in ethnic appearances: the former’s countenance appeared to be Caucasian, and the latter’s features were Asiatic. But their most striking attributes were their hair. While relatively tame compared to hairstyles sported by a ton of anime characters, these two still had mops with strange colors, with the pre-teen boy’s being white as snow and his teenage counterpart’s being mostly red on top and black on the lower half in the back (making the back of his head resemble the face of a cardinal). With their descriptions finally conveyed, the two hosts nodded to each other and were now ready to begin.

“Hello, dear readers,” announced the younger boy, “My name is Lincoln Loud.”

“And my name is Lee Ping,” said the now-named teenager. “We welcome you all to a story that has been ruminating this writer’s mind for a while.”

“Which is another way of saying that he thought it up on a whim and couldn’t repress it like he usually does,” snarked Lincoln. “Of course, he ultimately caved in as my show is still a hit with the kids (and a ton of immature adults) –“

“That somehow still can’t unseat his channel’s mainstay featuring a sentient sponge,” jested Lee. “And my show is one that he holds close to his heart.”

“Of course, that cult following couldn’t save it from being butchered by the unforgiving climate of the early 2010s for plot-driven 22-minute shows and only barely getting by under a streaming paywall.”

“Well, not all of us were lucky enough to be made in the U.S. and be gifted with wide accessibility,” Lee grunted before his face began to falter. “I still can’t believe they did that…”

“Hey, big man, it’s alright now,” Lincoln said in a comforting tone.

“They didn’t just spew the episodes onto their site and gave no promotion for them, oh no! They cut out stuff and whole episodes that had material that looked like edutainment compared to the stuff you get away with nearly every episode!” Lee ranted.

“True, but we tend to rely on some degree of cartoon logic,” Lee defended. “I think that your quasi-realism could make some dark situations too real.”

Lee sighed, calming down from his ramble, “Point taken. I guess it’s time to start the disclaimer. You ready, little man?”

“After you, _hyeong_ ,” Lincoln offered with a wink, earning him a bit of a chuckle from his older friend.

Almost immediately, a shoddily made sign with “Disclaimer” roughly painted on it descended from the rafters on a pulley system into view.

After clearing his throat, Lee began his contractually obligated declaration. “ _Detentionaire_ is a production of Nelvana and created by Daniel Bryan Franklin and Charles Johnson.”

“ _The Loud House_ is a production of Nickelodeon Animation Studio and created by Chris Savino,” stated Lincoln, with a bitter of a shudder from the name he just said. Seeing this, Lee put his hand on his young cohort’s shoulder, giving him a supportive smile. The disclaimer sign was swiftly pulled back into the abyss above them.

“Now, it’s time for us clarify some of the prevailing elements in this crossover,” Lee resumed. “First, this story is more of an alternate universe version of my show’s plot, with some significant changes. There may be some references to other fiction franchises, but nothing too blatant.”

“Second, my family members are basically the only characters from my show that will be explicitly featured in this tale,” explained Lincoln. “It does make sense since the main premise is that my family is living in his home city. As such, don’t expect the supporting cast or any ships exclusive to the show.” Sounds of grumbling were heard from afar as some readers closed the tabs containing this story. “That’s not to say that they’re completely banned from making cameos! Aw, too late…”

“Third, this is the writer’s first serious foray into fanfiction, so this is going to be a learning experience him,” Lee continued. “As such, he’s also juggling this with his academic and social lives (in addition to conducting a slow-going recap of my show), so updates will be a rarity.”

“That’s provided if he doesn’t have a nervous breakdown, assume that this was all a mistake, and takes down everything,” Lincoln surmised the writer’s fears.

“Too close to home.”

“Sorry. And finally, there will be 4th wall breaking sections sprinkled throughout the chapters, but not nearly as meta as this one. They’ll either be like my scenes that were prominent in the first season or Lee’s pre-show recaps.”

“The latter might be tricky since those relied on a lot of visuals,” Lee admitted. “Anyway, I hope you all will be entertained by this amateur’s dribbles.”

“Same here,” Lincoln added.

“Enjoy!” they both exclaimed, hands spread out moments before the spotlight went out, returning the stage into darkness.

“So, what state is Ottington in exactly?” Lincoln’s voice asked.

“Eh, I think it’s going by Simpsons’ geography,” Lee’s voice answered. “The creators sort of spitballed it when they were adjusting it for a non-Canadian audience.”

“Yeah, but it’s based off of Toronto, so it should be a Great Lakes city by default.”

“Fine, let’s keep it in Michigan by the Lake Huron shore. It’s not as if the writer could get any lazier…”


	2. Prologue: Meet the New Neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Ping meets the Loud siblings (circa Anno Lincoln 1).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello, everyone. Here's the "first" actual start of the story. It can only get better from here, as my head has been brewing nearly everything else past this point.

_Hi, I’m Lee Ping. I’m just your normal teenager with a hairstyle that only my parents believe to be natural. The summer is almost over, and I’ve got my Sophomore year to look forward to. But, that’s not important right now. I’m working on a little something for my next-door neighbors, the Louds. And, believe me, they truly live up to that name. Heck, I remember when I first met them 10 years ago…_

–☲–

“But, Dad, I wanted to stay home and watch cartoons today!” moaned a young boy with peculiar red-black hair to his bespectacled father as they walked out of the door of their home.

“I’m sorry, Lee,” replied his father, “but I’m needed back at work.” He then smiled, “Besides, you might make friends out of our new neighbors.” Seeing that his son’s frown hasn’t changed, Dr. Alfred Ping sighed, “It will be just for today if things don’t work out, ok?”

Lee’s face morphed to a sad smile and nodded. He couldn’t help but think he was letting his dad down in some way, but he just can’t help being shy. The fact that a bunch of kids recently moved into the neighborhood was surreal when he used to be the only one on the block. Before Lee even realized it, they were standing at the door of the large house. It was kind of weird how this building that had been dead silent for who knows how long was now filled with noise that he could only compare to his old pre-k class.

Dr. Ping had just rung the bell, and the pandemonium suddenly stopped only to be replaced by a shrill “DAD! THE DOOR!” composed by high-pitched voices before the chaos resumed. Lee looked up to his dad with shock in his eyes. “You didn’t say that they were girls!” he cried.

“Like I said, son,” Dr. Ping said to comfort his son, “it’ll be for today if you’re still uneasy when I come back.”

Before Lee could say anything else, the door opened to reveal a man a few inches taller than his dad, wearing a pink apron and oven-mitts; this caused Lee’s unwillingness to be there to be replaced with confusion at the sight. “Oh, hello, Dr. Ping,” the man said with a happy, yet weary, demeanor before looking down, “And you must be Lee. That’s some wicked red hair you’ve got, kiddo!”

Upon noticing his son’s concern, Dr. Ping explained, “It means he thinks your hair looks good.” He then turned to his attention back the man. “Hello to you too, Lynn! I’m so glad that you were able to look after my boy at such short notice.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble. Besides, what’s one more kid?” the now-named man responded before chuckling. “I kid; I kid. Little Lee here is good hands. The Mrs. and I have had a _lot_ of practice.”

“From what the both of you told us, I don’t doubt it!” Dr. Ping laughed, before turning back to Lee. “Son, this man is our neighbor, Mr. Loud. He and his family traveled all the way from Royal Woods to come here.” The abrupt ringing of his phone cut him off, prompting the good doctor to fish it out and widen his eyes upon the displayed message. “I’ve got to go now! Be good for Mr. & Mrs. Loud, Lee! And have fun!” he shouted while heading off to the car parked in front of his house next door.

Lee couldn’t remember the last time he saw his dad move that quickly, but his train of thought was interrupted by Mr. Loud’s clearing of his throat. “Well, come on in, Lee. My wife and kids can’t wait to meet you.” Lee nodded and walked through the door. What greeted him inside was the sight of near-bedlam in the living room.

From what he could tell, there were four girls that were caught up in two separate tiffs. Two with long blonde hair, only distinguished by their clothing (one in a blue shirt and brown shorts; the other in a green dress and white sunglasses) appeared to be playing tug-of-war with the TV remote; Lee could see the channel changing whenever the remote shifted to closer to each sister. The latter duo of brunettes seemed to be engaged in a weird stand-up scenario where one girl with pigtails in a yellow dress was playing the role of the comedian and the other with a small ponytail in a large red jersey was meant to be the audience but was more a heckler, much to the former’s unseen dismay.

 _Oh, gosh_ , Lee thought, _this is even worse_. He looked back to the door just to see the car carrying his dad speeding off.

“Girls!” commanded Mr. Loud, “We have a guest!” And just like that, the girls’ mayhem came to a halt as they turned their gaze to Lee’s direction.

“Huh?!” they exclaimed.

“Girls, meet our neighbors’ son, Lee,” Mr. Loud introduced on the boy’s behalf. “He’ll be staying with us for the day, so make him feel welcome.”

“Uh, hello,” Lee timidly muttered, noting the stares he was getting from his new audience.

“Uh, Dad,” the blonde in the blue shirt spoke up, “You never mentioned that his hair would look like that.”

“Yeah,” piped the green-clad girl, “I thought kids like us can’t dye our hair.” She suddenly gasped and asked, “Does this mean that I can get mine done, too?”

“Well, Lori, I thought it’d be best for you to see firsthand,” answered Mr. Loud. “Also, no, you still not allowed to, Leni.”

“Are we supposed to believe that’s natural?” asked the pigtailed girl, “Because that means he could truly be red-faced.”

“Well, my parents told me that it’s been that way since I was baby,” Lee nervously explained.

“Oooh,” the girls cooed.

“OK, gang, I’ve got to finish lunch, so play safe!” And with that, Mr. Loud ran back to the kitchen, leaving Lee to be surrounded by the four sisters.

“So,” Leni pondered, “What should we do now?”

“I can practice my stand-up for Lee,” beamed the yellow-clad brunette.

“Boo!” shouted the jersey-wearing girl.

“Oh, shush it, Lynn.”

“She has a point, Luan,” Lori spoke up. “We all need to have fun, not just you.” This earned her a huff from the would-be comedian.

“Let’s play a game!” Lynn shouted.

“That a good idea,” Lee responded, “Do you girls have any board games?”

“What? Are you that _board_ of us?” Luan taunted, “Then again, you look _stiff_ to me!”

“Ignore her,” Lori said while massaging her forehead with her finger and thumb. “And yeah, I’ll go get one.”

As Lori left for the storage closet, Lee noticed that Leni was eyeing just above him, slowly realizing what she wanted. “You can touch it,” he invited.

Leni let out a small squeal of delight and started running her fingers through her guest’s peculiar hair, paying no attention to Lee’s blushing face. “Wow, even the roots are red!”

“Now that Lee looks the part, could you two _ketchup_ with the rest of us?” Luan alerted them to Lori’s return.

“I figured that we could play one of Dad’s favorites: Conglomerate,” Lori announced while holding the box in question. “For the sake of Lynn, we’ll stick with the kid’s rules.”

“Hey! I’m not dumb!” shouted the three-year-old in question.

“Anyways, I’m taking the Bowler Hat!”

“Dibs on the Dragster!” Lynn butted in.

“I call the Chihuahua!” Leni piped. “It’s so adorbs!”

“I’ll take the Diesel,” Luan stated, “but do you think we should wait for Luna.”

“Who?” Lee asked.

“Oh, she’s our other sister,” Lori answered, “And if she wants to spend her time with Lincoln (our baby brother), it’s her loss.”

 _There’s more?_ Lee thought before he was alerted by Lori’s _ahem_. “Oh, I guess I’ll take the Tugboat.”

“Great! Now, let’s play!” Lori announced. “Also, I’m the banker, unless anyone else here can count past 20.” She smiled at the lack of volunteers before setting up the game.

–☲–

After the first three rounds, Lee caught on to the girls’ purchase strategies and skillfully rolled doubles to every key property that wasn’t already claimed, and just managed to avoid the prison penalty. This forced the girls to make trades that seemed innocuous enough, but this would lead to him acquiring all four airports and two hotel-laden colored neighborhoods. The game finally ended when Lynn had the misfortune of landing on Lee’s most expensive property.

“Cheater!” Lynn growled, barely resisting the urge to flip the board.

“What? I was playing by the rules just like the rest of you,” Lee playfully taunted.

“Wow, Lynn’s face and jersey beat Lee’s hair in the red department,” Luan chuckled.

“Sorry, girls,” Lori sighed in defeat, “I don’t like it either, but he won fair and square.”

As Lee’s prideful smile was met with glares from the four sisters (technically three as Leni just looked confused), the tension was sharply cut by a shrill cry from upstairs. The crying persisted and seemed to draw closer as it was accompanied by the sound of footsteps. That’s when Lee saw the two remaining Loud siblings in the form of a panicking brunette decked in purple sweats holding a sobbing baby. “Hey, guys,” the girl grunted, “care to help a sister out?”

“What went wrong, Luna?” Lori asked as she took the baby, trying to calm him down.

“I don’t know!” the now identified Luna answered as Lori handed the baby to Leni. “Lil’ Linc just started crying for no reason.”

“Maybe he’s thirsty?” Leni suggested before shifting baby Lincoln to Lynn.

“He drained his bottle minutes ago,” Luna replied.

“Sleepy?” Lynn sweated while passing the house crier to Luan.

“Nah, he had his nap an hour ago.”

“Does he need changing?” Luan queried.

“His diaper is bone dry,” Luna groaned. “I can’t figure it out.”

“Hey!” Lee shouted, drawing all eyes to him. “Maybe I could help?”

“I don’t think so,” Lori stated flatly, not sure if she could trust him with a toddler. Lincoln made that decision for her as he started wrestling out of Luan’s hold while reaching out towards Lee.

“I’d say ‘Be our guest’, but you already are,” Luan joked before passing the fussy baby to their visitor.

Once in the hands of the friendly stranger, little Lincoln slowly calmed as he gazed up at Lee’s head. Lee was just as captivated in his new charge’s appearance; the baby’s hair was bright white rather than just the assumed platinum blond he saw from the lighting. “Well, would you look at that,” Lee smiled. “We’re two of a kind.” Lincoln giggled in response.

“Wow, he must really like you,” Luna commented, drawing Lee’s eyes towards her. “He’s not really comfortable with strangers.”

“Um, thank you?” Lee responded with a slight blush before turning back to Lincoln. “Hey, little guy! I’m your new neighbor, Lee.”

“Ree! Ree!” Lincoln babbled with glee.

“Aww,” Leni cooed, “he thinks he’s a police siren.” This earned simultaneous groans from her four sisters. “What?”

“Wait, did I miss a game of Conglomerate?” Luna asked, having spotted the set-up board game in question.

“Yeah, and Lee here managed to legally rob us blind,” Lori answered. “Heck, Lynn was the one that got bankrupt!”

“Because beating a three-year-old makes him _so cool_ ,” Lynn sarcastically growled.

“Oh, you’d be bragging for days if you won, and you know it,” Lori shot back.

“Hey, kids!” came the voice of Mr. Loud. “Soup’s on!”

“Alright!” the Loud sisters cheered. Lincoln chimed in with a delighted gurgle.

“You’re gonna love Pops’s cooking, dude!” Luna praised while grabbing Lee and dragging him along to the kitchen. “He goes all out whenever we have guests!”

Luna’s words were proven right to the semi-redhead as he was presented by a pair of dishes he’d never thought could be mixed with each other: sweet potato gnocchi with alfredo sauce and sweet & sour beef (a dish Lee remembered his mom made that she called _tangsuyuk_ ). Suffice to say, this combination tasted powerful as their contrasting, yet striking flavors vied for Lee’s favor. And to top it all off, Mr. Loud whipped out a decadent dessert called an English trifle at the tail-end of lunch. What also enhanced the meal was the company Lee had, as the Loud sisters were talkative and engaged in minor food-fights. The only exceptions were Luna and Lincoln; the purple-garbed girl spent her time feeding her little brother his slightly pureed version of the meal in between her bites. What really captivated Lee was the girl’s melodic humming throughout lunch that was lightly hypnotic.

–☲–

After lunch and everyone cleaned up, the children went about their business. Lori and Lynn were playing catch in the backyard, and Luan was trying out another round of jokes with Leni (often having to explain each one the latter didn’t get). As for the rest, Luna cradled a sleeping Lincoln in her arms on the sofa while Lee was lying on the floor next to them, drawing something. “And, done!” Lee announced before presenting it to his young hostess.

It was a cute portrait of the two siblings that eerily made them look like mother and child. “Wow,” Luna surmised, “This is pretty good. Do you want to be an artist?”

“Well,” Lee mused, “I don’t know yet. Mom says that I can become anything, as long as she likes it.” He let out a small sigh. “So, what about you? Are you going to be a singer? I heard you humming during lunch.”

“Kinda,” Luna admitted. “I just don’t know what kind of sound I should stick to.”

“Well, whatever you choose, I bet you’d be great.”

“You mean that I’m not already?” Luna playfully chided.

“I’ll never know unless I can hear more than just humming.”

“Well, I do have this song that I wanted to try for a while.” And with that, she gave Lee a private session. And judging from Lincoln’s sleeping face having formed a smile, Lee wasn’t alone in enjoying the aria.

–☲–

 _Not long after the performance, Mom arrived to take me home. She wanted to leave right away, but the smell of Mr. Loud’s leftovers drew her into making light conversation with the chef of the house. It wasn’t long until Dad and Mrs. Loud returned and what started as a playdate turned into a “small” dinner party. Sure, the Louds have their quirks (more on that later), but then again so do us Pings (even if we’re more subtle about it). Nowadays, they’ve become like the uncle, aunt, and cousins I never had._ Huh… _I just hope they’ll like my moving anniversary present. With such a diverse family (figuratively speaking), it’s hard to narrow it down. Wish me luck!_

–☲–

** [REDACTED] Chat Log: 281407 **

…

 **C.M.** : Status report on Project: Lambda/Pi.

 **F.M.** : Subjects still haven’t shown signs of significant advancement. Any visages of enhanced talents are directed towards singular pursuits instead of all-around skills.

 **K.M.** : Perhaps we should keep our focus exclusively on the _Antiquis Triangulum_ and if it has any connection to the events that occurred in Oregon.

 **C.M.** : No. Until [REDACTED] decides to share that knowledge with us, we must continue observations. Please tell me that we have something.

 **K.M.** : Subjects # 01, 06, & 11 show some signs of variety potential equal to Designations: Cobalt Hydra & Cardinal Dragon. However, I believe that Subject 10 will be just as valuable if not more so as an asset with her achievements in such a short existence.

 **F.M.** : Of course, this all depends on whether the Subjects can develop [REDACTED] to prove Dr. [REDACTED]’s claims of their ancestry.

 **C.M.** : Very well. We will reconvene at [REDACTED] for further discussion.

** Log Ended **


	3. Chapter 1: Block-Bash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Chapter of the present timeline (Anno Lincoln 11 a.k.a. 2012); it is here we get introduced to the rest of the Louds and Pings, and hints for the future.

Hancock Lane is home to two distinct families in southern Ottington: the Pings and the Louds. Just from the sight of their adjacent homes, onlookers can see their defining, yet conflicting characteristics. Small vs. large; quiet vs. boisterous; orderly vs. chaotic. In all respects, unaware bystanders would think that these households would have at least a one-sided rivalry between each other based on these conditions. Yet, these families have achieved a peaceful co-existence that even bordered on symbiotic at times. And one of the factors that brought this into effect was their shared hosting of the neighborhood’s annual Labor Day potluck/block party to close out the summer break, an event that evolved from the first supper the two families shared. This neighborhood event was also open to anyone (with a pitch-in fee/dish offering naturally), usually friends and distant relatives. Of course, this all would have been for naught if the children were incapable of gelling with each other…

–☲–09/3/2012–☲–

It was noon when a white, hatchback sedan parked near a police barricade. “OK, _niños_ ,” said a matronly voice from the driver’s seat, “We’re here.” “Here” referred to the decently sized block party just beyond the barrier.

Being the first to come out of his family’s car, a teenage boy of Afro-Cuban descent sauntered towards the festival’s entrance, dressed in a jersey-over-t-shirt combo, a pocket-watch-turned-medallion, and headphones. “Yo, _chicos_ and _chiquitas_!“ he boldly proclaimed, “The _fiesta_ can finally start now that the Cam-Man is here!”

“Camillio! Get back here and help me with the food!” shouted his mother’s voice. This was enough was enough to cause the boy to falter and walk back the car as a younger girl of similar complexion swapped places with him.

“Cam is such an _idiota_ ,” giggled the girl as she made her way to the party. Out of the roving mass of kids that were present, she spotted the two she expected. “ _¡Oye, gemelas de Loud!_ ”

The _gemelas_ in question consisted of two Caucasian girls in a pink Moxie Wheels toy jeep who, despite being biological twins and donning matching sunglasses, appeared as different as night and day. The one in the driver seat wore a long pink dress, matching evening gloves, and a tiara that was hard to discern its authenticity. The other who was riding shotgun sported a red worker’s cap turned backward, blue overalls, and random splatters of dirt and grime all over her. They stopped their ride and lowered their glasses simultaneously; their feigned “business” expressions gave way to feelings of joy to see their new guest. “Angelina! You made it!”

“It’s nice to see you see guys, too” the now identified girl replied excitedly. “How have you been?”

“Well, you’re looking that this year’s Little Ms. Ottington!” gloated the girl in pink. “At least, you will by the end of next month. There’s nothing wrong with a little hype, right?”

“You actually have to win first,” snarked the overalls girl, earning her a venomous glare from her counterpart. “As for me, I’ve been tinkering with all the family cars to make them even better. Heck, this baby is practically street legal now.” This was emphasized by her slapping the car’s side.

“Wow, that’s so cool, Lana!” Angelina gushed. “Not that your news is any less awesome, Lola” she quickly added when the glare was turned towards her.

“So, do you want a ride to the games at the other side?” Lola asked.

“You bet!” Angelina responded hopping into the jeep’s “trunk”, and the trio rode off.

Meanwhile, Cam and his mother were each carrying a pair of food cases to an arrangement of tables spread in front of two houses. The food station was manned by two other adults. “ _¡Hola, Lynn! ¡Hola, Sue!_ ” greeted Cam’s mother.

“Oh, hello, Maria!” said the Korean-American woman known as Sue Ping. “We were worried that you weren’t going to make it.”

“It would have been a shame, too,” added the Caucasian man a.k.a. Lynn Loud, Sr. “I’ve been looking forward to your world-famous empanadas!”

“Oh, stop; they’re not that great,” the now identified Maria Martinez playfully self-abased.

“Hey, Mr. L? Mrs. P?” Cam piped up after laying his burden on the table. “Do you know where my L-Boys are at?”

“Well, Lincoln is holding a video game tournament in my living room (which I hope stays clean),” Mrs. Ping answered. “As for Lee, he’s been upstairs doing who knows what.”

“Alright, thanks for the info, Mrs. P,” Cam blurted before rushing into the Ping residence, leaving the adults to parley.

“So, I take it that your other halves are running late again?” Mrs. Martinez observed with sympathy as she got behind the table to help serve out food.

“Yes,” Mrs. Ping sighed. “I know his work is important, but it’s Labor Day! His bosses really need to consider their employees’ families.”

“No need to worry,” Mr. Loud reassured. “Rita said she’ll pick him up and be back in time for the concert.”

“So, how about the rest of the Loud clan?” Mrs. Martinez decided to switch subjects.

“Well, Lucy has her spooky tent for fortune telling and séances,” Mr. Loud recalled with a bit of a shudder.

–☲–

“My dark powers reveal that, in 25 years, you’ll be wiped off the face of the earth by impossible circumstances,” were the words of a pale skinned girl with pitch-black bangs concealing her eyes. It was no coincidence that her gloomy attire matched her visage and demeanor.

“Well, that’s reassuring,” muttered her client, a teenage brunette with a strange scarlet streak running through her hair.

“It’s not all bad,” Lucy reassured. “Before then, it’s foreseen that you will take part in an important adventure.”

–☲–

“Lynn, Jr. set up the wrestling ring and is wagering a few of her trophies to anyone that can pin her down for the count.”

“Has anyone come close?” asked Mrs. Martinez.

–☲–

“1! 2! 3!” announced a child in a referee uniform. “And that’s another one down by Lunatic Lynn!”

The victor rose up, drawing attention to her red & white jersey, red shorts, and her red, black, & blue luchador mask. “Do you wanna try again?” she smugly asked her fallen opponent, already knowing the answer.

The challenger, a teenage boy with a strawberry blond pompadour with green coloration in the front, could only mutter a negative moan while he was lying on the ground.

Lynn chuckled before turning her attention to the small crowd. “Who’s next?”

–☲–

“Not a one,” Mr. Loud said proudly. “Luan is putting on a one-woman routine…”

–☲–

“… And how about those mosquitos?” said a yellow & white clad brunette, showing her braces as she spoke. “If you ask me, they’re the only part of summer that really _sucked_! _Hahahahahahaha!_ Get it?”

Instead of roaring laughter, the small audience gave off a collective groan towards Luan. All save for a sole teenage girl of East Asian descent, whose eye that wasn’t obscured by her magenta bang just stared; she seemed to mull over the aspiring comedian’s performance.

–☲–

“… with mixed results,” the Loud patriarch stated nervously.

“I swear, some people need to work on their sense of humor,” Mrs. Ping pouted, being one of the few people that found Luan’s puns funny.

“Leni has gotten into face-painting recently, so she’s doing that for the younger kids…”

–☲–

“And now, you’re a cute little dragon boy!” a blonde girl in a green dress with white-rimmed sunglasses raised above her eyes told her subject.

Her current client, a teenage boy whose black taper cut hair was peppered with teal flecks, looked in the mirror to see the results. Sure enough, his face was painted to resemble some sort of reptilian creature, but there was something missing. “Uh, you forgot to add the flame plumes.”

“No, I didn’t,” Leni answered, then pointing at the cheeks in the boy’s reflection. As it so happens, his cheeks each had a fiery colored fruit of the plant _Prunus Prunus_. “See?”

“Those are _plums_ ; I asked for _plumes_ ,” the boy grumbled. “You know? Like smoke coming out of a chimney?”

“Dragon’s don’t smoke, silly!” Leni laughed, missing the point. “By the way, the paint is still wet,” she added when the boy cupped his face with his hands.

Unfortunately, he found out too late as he lifted his face, saw the messed-up paint in his hands, and turned to the mirror to see his distorted visage. “OH, COME ON!”

–☲–

“…and Lisa is giving one of her lectures, but she really needs to learn her audience...”

–☲–

“… And that is why we are less than 50 years away before humanity can unlock the secrets to traversing the time-space continuum to any previous era. Any questions?” finished a small brunette in a green sweater and maroon pants with large rimmed glasses atop a podium. Behind her was a massive blackboard covered in various formulas and equations.

Her audience, mostly composed of curious adult neighbors, was left confused but too proud to ask her anything. That is to save one member: a young African-American man with dreadlocks that seemed to have orange hair mixed in with the regular black. “Professor Loud, would it be at all possible to travel forwards through time?”

“An intriguing inquiry,” Lisa acknowledged. “This process to perfect this alternative would prove difficult as that involves temporal-spatial displacement where the traveler’s matter avoids rematerializing in a position occupied with different objects…” And thus, another lecture was made.

–☲–

“If she’s this smart now, I’m scared to what she’ll become when she’s my age,” Mr. Loud gulped.

“I see,” Mrs. Martinez plainly surmised. “Wait a minute, I know that you’ve got a few more left.”

“Since we ended up getting more people than we thought this year, Lori, Lana, and Lola had stepped up to keep the younger kids in line.”

–☲–

A small group of assorted kids shuddered in fear in w under the glare of an imposing, teenage blonde. “I’m going to say this once, and I expect you to obey it to the letter,” the young woman sternly commanded. “The bushes are not port-a-potties. If you need to go, head into the closest open-door home to use their bathroom. Got it?”

The frightened children nodded nervously, hoping to not set off their older peer.

“That’s better,” replied the young woman clad in a blue t-shirt and khaki shorts before addressing the twin blondes on each of her sides. “Lana, Lola, you can let them out now.”

“You got it, Lori!” Lana responded, unlocking the kids’ holding cell that was lovingly called the Time-Out Pen. Now free, the children rushed out, with some straying off to a few of the houses to answer the call of nature.

“And if anyone goes in the Loud House, they better leave it cleaner than when they found it! Or else!” Lola roared threateningly.

Lori sighed. “This day can’t end soon enough.”

“Poo poo!” babbled a voice behind her. Lori turned around to see little Lily, the literal baby of the family, tugging at her leg.

“Please let that mean that you’re just agreeing with me and not––” her words died in her mouth when the dreaded odor emanating from a giggling Lily confirmed her worst fears.

–☲–

“Maybe it’s a bit much to also put Lily in their care,” Mrs. Ping surmised.

“Nah, they can handle it,” Mr. Loud boasted.

“Of course,” Mrs. Martinez spoke up, “we can’t forget our three _artistas musicales_. Camillio has been teasing us about their selection the past week.”

–☲–

The sight Cam was treated to inside the Ping home was a nearly packed living room filled pre-teens huddled together with their eyes glued to the screen. Among them were four that seemed to have death-grips on video game controllers.

‘Dang, bro,’ Cam wondered, ‘What could make these kids so agro?’ He soon answered his own question by looking at the TV. “Whoa, you guys are taking _Triple-A_ way too seriously.”

 _Triple-A_ is the nickname for the crossover fighting game franchise _Awesome Assault Associates_ which pitted a roster of nearly 50 characters (most of whom are owned by the gaming company Wintendo) against each other in knock-out-of-frame combat. It was the go-to PVP game for pre-teens that are forbidden from the FPS games by their parents. “Game!” proclaimed the in-game announcer. “The winner is… Bond!”

While his three opponents hung their heads, a peculiar boy stood up and boasted “Oh, yeah! Undefeated!!” The clear victor stood out from the crowd due to both his orange polo and white hair.

“Dang, _Poco Blanco_!” Cam exclaimed when he saw the results, “You didn't have to massacre them!”

“Oh, hey, Cam!” the boy welcomed the late-comer. “You should have come in at the start when I gave these guys a virtual butt-whooping.”

“Thanks for the reminder, Lincoln,” uttered one of the players sarcastically.

Cam smirked at the display. The sole Loud son was one of the few younger kids he considered a kindred spirit. “I’m guessing that was the last round?”

“Yup,” Lincoln answered, “We're going to start a racing gauntlet soon; you're welcome to join us.”

“Thanks for the offer, bro. But I need to check in with a certain duo. Speaking of which, where are they?”

“Luna's in the garage, brushing up some tunes. As for Lee, he's–"

“’Stuck in his room?’” finished Cam. “Yeah, Mrs. P already told me. Any idea on what he's up to?”

Lincoln shook his head. “He's only ever come out for food and bathroom trips. I tried catching him while waiting for my times to play, but he'd only say that it's confidential.”

“Yo, Lincoln!” shouted a feminine voice, “Are you going to leave us hanging or are we going to play?!”

“I'll be right there!” Lincoln shouted before turning to Cam one last time. “Maybe you can ask him?”

“Gotcha, _hermano_ ,” Cam replied before heading upstairs. It wasn't like Lee to be a shut-in on this day as far he remembered. This was either a serious matter or he's finally grown tired of the festivities like the rest of their class.

–☲–

Inside his room of organized chaos, a teenaged boy of Korean descent with a peculiar head of red-black hair decked in green attire had isolated himself into poring every amount of time on his personal project. At least he was until he felt an unseen presence of people viewing him. To acknowledge this invisible audience, he started to speak:

“Hey, Lee Ping here. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing cooped up inside in my room while the remnants of summer are passing me by. Well, I just put the finishing touches on that anniversary gift I told you about last time. It was tough going considering what I had to work with. You see, while my family has stayed the same size, the Loud House has nearly doubled in size with the addition of 5 girls. I’m sure you already spotted them if only for a short while.”

“Yo, dude!” called out a voice from the other side of the door, “what are you doing in there?”

“Cam?!” Lee asked in surprise. “Just a second!” he shouted back before returning to his work. “Just need to add my signature… And, done.” Satisfied with his work, Lee placed his finished artwork into one of two art folio cases before opening the door to reveal his somewhat shorter friend.

“So…” Cam began, “What is, bro? I hear you’ve been bailing on most of the _fiesta_.”

The partial redhead sighed before pulling his friend inside his bedroom and shutting the door. “Promise me that you'll say nothing about this before I reveal it myself.”

“Dude, this is me you're talking about,” Cam remarked. “How about a vote of confidence?”

“Eh, good point,” Lee gave in before opening one of the art folios and taking out the canvas board with a finished art piece.

This meticulously crafted work depicted a teenage girl shredding on her guitar, both sharing a violet color scheme; she had an open-mouthed smile that signified singing. The background resembled a stage with a light-laden sign that read “Luna Loud”.

“Whoa, Holmes,” Cam grinned, “I didn't realize you were taking this approach; my money was on you serenading her.”

“What?! No!” Lee flustered. “It's not like that! Besides I’ve made stuff like this for all the Louds.” He then proceeded to open the art folio that contained 5 other complete canvases. “See?”

“Sure, Bro,” Cam smugly replied. “Guess that means a certain someone else no longer has competition, huh?” This earned him a playful slug to the arm from his redhead compatriot. “ _Ow!_ I was just kidding, Pong-Man!”

“So was I,” Lee laughed, “Anyway, I guess we should probably meet up with Luna to prepare for the main event.”

–☲–

Inside the Ping family's garage, there was a certain girl that looked she leaped off Lee's painting, with the matching guitar, violet rocker outfit (tattered skull shirt, belted skirt, and boots), pixie haircut, and earrings that resembled paperclips. With her back to the black SUV that shared the room with her, she strummed some random chords in search of a new melody. This cadenza helped her to process some things that have been pressing as of late.

“ _I just don't get it. I know Lori's friends weren't interested in the block party anymore, but I figured some of our class would be here_ ,” she mused. “ _I guess the event being mostly kid-focused might be the reason. It doesn't make it right though._ ”

Her musical meditation soon came to a halt as the connecting door opened to reveal her two contemporary compatriots.

“Luna-Saloona!” Cam greeted, “Guess who I managed to release from solitary!”

“Thank you, Cam,” Luna grinned, playing along, “And good afternoon to you, luv.”

Lee gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry for keeping you waiting; I was in the zone.”

“No worries, dude; we're here now,” Luna returned. “So, can we narrow down the hits we're going to play?”

“If I remember correctly, we each get to choose two before we play our one original,” Lee pondered. “I’m gonna go with the Reefer Bros.’s ‘Hearken to the Harmony’ and BC/AD's ‘Highway to Heaven’.”

“You're really banking on the oldies, bro,” Cam smirked. “I’m down with it. Let's rep some Cedar Valley with ‘How I Could Just Merc a Kid’ and Carlos Santviento's ‘Maria Maria’.” This got a look from his peers. “Relax, they'll be safe for the _niños_ ,” he reassured them. “What have you come up with, Loud?”

“Ah, you know you me, Cam,” the freckled girl shrugged in a faux British accent, “I gotta stick with my classic blokes! ‘My Generation’ by The What and ‘Route 66’ by Mick Swagger's the Stalking Rocks are my picks.”

“Alright, enough talk,” Lee commanded while grabbing his violin from the stand, “Let's warm up!”

“Aw, yeah!” Cam shouted in excitement. “Grand Master Cam-Man featuring No Strings Attached is ready for their end-of-summer gig!”

“You mean ‘No Strings Attached feat. G.M. Cam-Man’, right?” Luna stated with a raised eyebrow.

“Same thing, bro,” Cam defended.

Lee covered his mouth to restrain the urge to laugh.

–☲–

Just as the sun nearly vanished from view and their food table now completely barren, the three “single” parents noticed two figures approaching who were all too familiar with them, for better or worse.

“Hi, dear,” said the mature blonde to Mr. Loud, “Sorry we're late. The good doctor's project lasted longer than we thought.”

“Ah, don't worry, Rita,” Mr. Loud replied, “You both are doing important work.”

“At least she doesn't have to go on long business trips,” Mrs. Ping grumbled. “Isn't that right, Alfred?”

The now-named Asian-American scientist rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “I know; I know. I'm sorry, dear.”

“At least you made it in time for our kids' performance,” Mrs. Martinez said to clear the tension. “They should be ready now. _¡Vamonos!_ ”

“Shouldn't we take care of the scraps?” Mrs. Loud asked while addressing the mostly empty food trays.

“Relax, honey,” Mr. Loud convinced her. “We can deal with it after the concert.”

And with that, the parental quintet made their way towards the Ping household's garage where all the partygoers have crowded together.

They all faced a makeshift stage where the three musical almost-sophomores had their amps, mic stands, instruments, et al set up.

“What up, Hancock Lane!” Cam hollered to the gathering. “Y'all ready to end the summer with a bang?!”

This was met with loud cheering, mostly by the younger members of the audience.

“Let's get this show rolling with a No Strings Attached original!” Cam shouted before pointing towards the duo. “Hit it!”

On cue, Lee proceeded to play the instrumental opening on his electric violin before Luna belted out the lyrics with intervals of guitar riffs [ **A/N:** This is the opening for _Detentionaire._ Just let it be theirs in this continuity.].

“I don’t wanna… take the heat, no!” the musical Loud began, “Now I gotta... go it solo…”

Suffice to say, that was quite the opening act by the young virtuosi.

–☲–

From a house across the street from the concert, a teenager with a hefty disposition listened discretely to the small concert.

“Eh, they're no Dudes of Darkness, but they're passable,” he surmised. A part of him even started regretting not attending himself, but that would mean his rep that he built last year could be undone if spotted. Let’s face it: he isn’t hard to identify with his stature and peculiar hat.

There were certain members of the crowd that he found intriguing: the five teenagers with bizarre hairdos that he assumed must have been new to the neighborhood. Something was off about them, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe if he saw them again, he could get some answers.

–☲–

“… Get your kicks on Route 66!” Luna crooned the last verse before the makeshift band played the last bridge of notes.

“And that’s a wrap, _chiquitos_ and _chiquitas_! Goodnight, Ottington!” Cam announced before he and Lee bowed while Luna curtsied.

With the concert having sapped their energy, the audience began to disperse to their respective destinations, leaving the Pings, the Martinez ladies, and the Loud clan.

“That was amazing, kiddos!” Dr. Ping congratulated.

“ _¡Excelente trabajo!_ ” praised Mrs. Martinez.

“You’re a real Rockstar in the making, Lunes!” Mr. Loud cheered.

“I’m so glad that I took the shortcut home,” Mrs. Loud sighed in relief. “I couldn’t bear missing this.”

“You’re sure to win the Battle of the Bands if you keep it up,” Lori encouraged.

“Aw, stop,” Luna blushed. “We weren’t all that.”

“Yeah,” Angelina piped up, “you’d be better if you dropped Camillio.”

“Oh, you’re so gonna get it, you little _mocosa_!” Cam yelled before jumping off the makeshift stage to chase his little sister who made a bee-line to the family car.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Mrs. Martinez announced before heading to the serving table to collect her trays. “ _¡Buenas Noches a todos!_ ”

“Good night!” the Louds and Pings returned.

“So, how about we all pack up the stands so the roads can be clear tomorrow?” Mrs. Ping “suggested” to the two families.

Naturally, this was met with collective groans from the kids.

–☲–

Under the streetlights, the multicolored hair quintet was making their way through Ottington’s urban sprawl.

“That was enlightening,” said Scarlet-Stripe.

“What do you mean?” Teal-Flecks asked.

“Our parents liked to boast on how big No Strings Attached was in high school,” she explained. “But why is it that nobody from their high school showed up?”

“It’s just what old folks do,” Green-Pompadour shrugged. “They like to exaggerate their accomplishments.”

“The same reason you won’t tell anyone that you got your butt kicked by someone half your size?” joked Magenta-Bang.

“Hey, how was I supposed to know that girl was freakishly strong at 13?” Green-Pompadour got on the defensive.

“You were really close to blowing our cover,” stated Orange-Dreads. “What if someone recorded you?”

“It’s not like you were any better,” Magenta-Bang pointed out. “You just had to say something to the one person in the area who could have made us in a matter of seconds.”

“She’s got you there, dude,” Teal-Flecks agreed. “Even in this time, her brainpower was on par with Steven Hawking.”

“It’s really hard to take you seriously with that mess on your face, bro,” Orange-Dreads remarked. “But OK, I’ll own up to that.”

“Hang on guys,” Scarlet-Stripe stopped them. “I think we’re here.” This drew the group’s attention to their destination: a two-story building flanked by two parking lots.

“So, now what?” Teal-Flecks asked moments before the double doors opened, revealing a shadowy figure.

“What are you five waiting for?” the figure called out in a feminine voice. “Get in! We have work to do.”

The five teenagers nodded and went inside, passing the building’s marquee bearing the title _Alexander Nigma High_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> I’ve had it rough these several months and not enough time to dedicate to this.  
> Credit to Mon-Ra for giving me advice on writing this scenario. Yeah, the edits to the summary is going to cost me dearly, but there is method to my madness. For one, only one Loud sister would be seriously interested in Lee and others; the rest would have their own pursuits (some more prevalent than others).  
> I’m a bit iffy on if I should quote any of the songs from the shows or not. If you’d like me to add them, I will, starting with editing this chapter. Here are the musical references in lieu of The Loud House and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure:
> 
> The Reefer Bros. – “Hearken to the Harmony” — The Doobie Brothers – “Listen to the Music”  
> BC/AD – “Highway to Heaven” — AC/DC – “Highway to Hell”  
> Cedar Valley – “How I Could Just Merc a Kid” — Cypress Hill – “How I Could Just Kill a Man”  
> Carlos Santviento – “Maria Maria” — Carlos Santana – “Maria Maria”  
> The What – “My Generation” — The Who – “My Generation”  
> The Stalking Rocks – “Route 66” — The Rolling Stones – “Route 66”


	4. Chapter 2: A Fated Encounter & The Bestowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief look into Cam's first meeting with the duo that would be No Strings Attached & Lee hands out his gifts to the Loud family.

Within the inner-city lies _Casa de Martinez_ , a modest home from outside appearances. But for the youth that lives there (and similarly aged visitors), its main draw is the basement that had been converted into a fusion of a home theater and elder son’s bedroom. It was a strange arrangement, but Camillio wasn’t much of a private person and welcomed any guest to the “Cam-Cave”. And when you live with/next to nearly a dozen sisters, it makes for a good retreat.

–☲–09/07/2012–☲–

“Fix that turret, dude!” Cam shouted.

“I won’t make it in time!” Lee responded desperately.

“They broke through!” Lincoln cried.

“Oh no, I’m dead,” Lori uttered in boredom.

The three males of the quartet then sunk into the couch when the inevitable “Game Over” message came on the screen, groaning in defeat. Lori, the sole young lady, just rolled her glazed-over eyes.

“We were so close!” Lee lamented.

“Lori, why aren’t you trying?” Lincoln complained to his eldest sister.

“Hey, you just said that you needed a fourth,” Lori shot back. “You didn’t ask for me to literally be involved.”

“Would you have done that if I _did_ ask?” Lincoln proposed.

“It would literally depend on the game,” she answered smugly.

“No way, Loud!” Cam objected, “this house is a non- _Triple-A_ area when you’re here, _comprende?_ ”

“ _Oh-ho_ , I think someone is forgetting who’s in charge of you all,” Lori said, directing a glower to the short future-sophomore. “After all, I could let it slip that my dear little brother has been coming here to play rated M games behind my parents’ backs.” Lincoln gulped in fear.

Before Cam could make a regrettable retort, Lee stepped in to play mediator. “Hey, guys, could we act like civilized people while we’re here please?” Seeing them slowly back off, he continued to say, “Come on, Lori; we’d never let Lincoln play this stuff if we didn’t think he was up for it.”

“Please, Lori?” Lincoln begged with his eyes resembling that of a puppy’s, “I swear that this stuff doesn’t give me nightmares.” If his sister paid closer attention, she would have heard him mutter the word “anymore”.

“Fine, I’ll keep this between us,” the eldest Loud sister begrudgingly relented.

“And Cam,” Lee switched targets, “it couldn’t hurt to have just one game with her, right?”

“Un-kay, bro,” Cam yielded, “But she can’t main as Princess Apricot.”

“Fair enough,” Lori complied. Just before she picked up the controller again, a buzzing was heard from her shorts’ pocket. “Oh, I gotta take this. Be back in a sec, twerps.” With that, she ascended the steps, leaving her current charges who immediately let out a sigh.

“How did you know just what to say?” Lincoln asked having rarely seen Lori so agreeable.

“It’s all a matter of appealing to both sides’ interests and getting them to give a little to get a little,” surmised the red/black-haired teen.

“Yeah, man,” Cam replied while swapping game discs. “You’ve been the negotiator ever since we were little.”

“You know, I don’t think I ever knew how you two met,” the white-haired pre-teen pondered.

“You mean how ‘you three’ met?” Cam returned. “It just so happened that the Ping man and your musical _hermana_ rescued me back in Third Grade; back then, I barely knew a lick of _Inglés_ …”

–☲–10/2005–☲–

Mi familia _was “fresh off the boat”, so it was a struggle to woo the ladies. Luckily, the language of love was universal, and I made my moves on my first field trip: Green Diamond Park. I was wooing some of the popular girls with my natural charms and a carefully selected bouquet of local flowers. Little did I know, that I was stepping over some boundaries._

“ _Hola mi bellas damas_ ,” a primary-school aged Camillio Martinez started before shifting to English attempts, “I thought of you when I found these.” He then presented the pleasant yet rushed offering of wildflowers to the girls in front of him.

The two girls in question (one light blonde dressed in a violet blouse and black skirt; the other dirty blonde with pink-tinted glasses, white sweater, and pink skirt) looked back at him with some confusion before giggling and resuming their little chat.

Young Cam became crestfallen, wondering what he did wrong. Unfortunately, his pondering time was cut short by the sudden presence of a bigger, angrier classmate in a backward-cap.

“Hey, Cam,” growled the larger boy, whose football-emblazoned t-shirt heaved as he puffed chest. “What do you think you’re doing with Crystal?”

“ _H-hola_ , Steve,” Cam stammered, “What did I do wrong?”

“Crystal is _my_ girl, newbie!” Steve bellowed. “If you don’t understand that, maybe you’ll understand _this_!” Just before he could lay the beat-down on the smaller child, two new figures swooped in between them.

Facing the would-be aggressor was a young duo of Lee Ping and Luna Loud; their appearances varied from their older visages ranged from minor (Lee’s bangs barely covering his forehead) to major (Luna sporting a full head of hair and wearing a lavender blouse & skirt combo).

“That’s not gonna happen, dude,” Lee proclaimed.

“Yeah, leave the little guy alone!” Luna added while giving Cam some space away from the bully.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with you!” Steve shouted, “He’s gotta pay for messing with my girl.”

“Hey, I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t flirt with her if he knew she was with you,” Luna shot back before turning to Cam. “Right, dude?”

“ _Sí_ – I mean, yes,” Cam nodded nervously.

“Besides, do you really think she would appreciate knowing that you beat up someone in front of her?” Lee asked rhetorically.

“The name is Crystal,” the confirmed girl in violet piped up, “And he has a point, Steve; you could have just told him off and be done with it.”

“I – uh, I…” Steve trailed off as words failed him in embarrassment.

“Live and let love be your truth, big guy,” Luna stated, “Show that you’re worth it.”

Steve seemed to ruminate on the words until the words finally came to him. “Fine. Just don’t cross me again.”

“Fair enough,” Lee agreed, “We’ll just be on our way.” And with that, Lee, Luna, and Cam left the placated giant of a boy.

“Who’d have thought that the new kid would have backup?” Steve wondered out loud.

“Well, at least we didn’t have to get a teacher involved,” Crystal remarked before turning the girl next to her. “Isn’t that right, Brandy?”

The now-named girl snapped out of her dazed looking at the departing trio to respond with a “Yeah, sure.”

“You alright, buddy?” Lee asked his and Luna’s new companion once they were a safe distance away from another incident.

“Yes, _muchas gracias_ to you both,” came Cam’s partially stunned reply.

“Think nothing of it; that’s what mates are for,” Luna said to cheer him up.

“Mates?” Cam wondered aloud.

“She means ‘friends’,” Lee answered, “Or maybe ‘amigos’ if you prefer?”

That sentence sparked a realization in young Cam’s heart. These two have been the first kids his age that ever treated him with kindness. “’Amigos’, huh? _Me gusta eso..._ ”

 _Little did we know that that day would lead to a beautiful friendship based on sticking up for each other & the little guy and a shared love for the arts. Pretty _cursi _, huh?_

–☲–Present Day–☲–

“And you guys remained friends ever since?” Lincoln asked amazed.

“Well, you’re here; aren’t ya, holmes?” Cam joked.

The basement steps creaked as Lori returned to the room, her face exhibiting her annoyance. “Twerps, our parents have the dinner ready, so we’re heading off now.” She then grinned in Cam’s direction, “Looks like I’ll have to smoke you in _Triple-A_ some other time, Martinez.”

“That’s not a guarantee, _chica!_ ” came the young host’s reply.

“Thanks for the story, Cam,” Lincoln said while ascending the stairs.

“Yeah, I’ll see you on Monday,” Lee started to join them before Cam grabbed him for a moment.

“Be sure to knock them dead with your ‘project’, _muchacho_ ,” Cam whispered.

Lee gave a small chuckle followed by a “Thanks, buddy” before joining up with Lincoln and Lori.

–☲–

The drive back to Hancock Lane was a bit uneventful for Lee aside from Lori shooting down his attempts at getting rides to school from her. “You have your mom, the buses, and the streetcar; I’m not a charity car service that you can use whenever you want,” she said. This attitude most likely came to be when she got her own car but was unable to escape her younger siblings’ demands of being their chauffeur.

At least now, he’s in his room now and ready collect his project. “Hey, guys,” Lee addressed the unseen audience. “I know you’re a bit anxious to see the rest of my ‘masterpieces’, but you’re going to need to wait until after the dinner. It’s mainly due to the younger half of the Loud sisters’ table manners (or lack thereof) being an imminent danger. Nothing against them, but there’s a reason that they have a kids’ table.”

“Now, you’re probably wondering, ‘Lee, why are your family and the Louds still having this dinner if that block party was the tradition?’ Well, it’s not against the law to have more than one tradition. And it’s a more civil time to catch us all up on what’s happened with us over the summer. You know: share some stories, talk about plans for the new school year; that sort of stuff. It almost feels like someone orchestrated our bonding. I mean in the practical sense, not the meta sense as that’s obvious.”

“Lee!” shouted his mother’s voice from behind the door. “We’re leaving now! Gather your things and come out of your room!”

“Alright guys, wish me luck!” Lee addressed to the audience while rushing out of his room with his art portfolio cases.

–☲–

The Loud family dinners tend to match their name, whether they had guests or not. And the ones that hosted the Pings were no exception. The array of dishes (Lynn Loud, Sr.: shepherd’s pie & cheesy cauliflower casserole; Sue Ping: pineapple fried rice & red velvet cake), while delectable, wasn’t the main draw; it was the conversation.

“So, how are you liking the Grown-Up Table, Linc?” Lee spoke to his young protégé.

“It’s a nice step up from having to dodge peas at any moment,” Lincoln answered with a twinge of satisfaction.

“Don’t act like that you didn’t enjoy it!” shouted Lana from the kids’ table while taking aim at her sisters with some of her rice.

“Plus, I’m stoked that I’m going to be in middle school this year,” the white-haired youth announced. “I bet Bonnie and I will actually become popular this time.”

“Good luck with that, Stink-coln!” mocked Lynn.

“Pay her no mind,” Lee assured him. “Just be yourself. And remember, popularity isn’t everything.”

“Speaking from experience, huh?” Lori teased with a smug grin.

“Oh yeah,” Luan recalled, “Your birthday that year was the one that most of us couldn’t attend, so you got desperate enough to ask three of the popular kids to attend so it wasn’t just you and Cam.”

 “Girls,” tutted Mr. Loud, “there’s no need to get into that.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Lori mumbled, “And to you too, Lee.”

“I a- _paw_ -logize, too,” Luan stated while suddenly whipping out gloves shaped like dog paws and giving the puppy-dog eyes. This earned a bit of a chuckle from Mrs. Ping, and the rest of the table was collectively grateful that she didn’t add her signature laugh and catchphrase this time.

“It’s not like the party was a complete wash-out anyway,” Luna spoke up. “Linc and I were there too.”

“I don’t remember much of it,” Lincoln admitted, “but I’m pretty sure it was good.”

“Oh yeah, remember when Cam was hypnotized into acting like a monkey?” Luna recalled to Lee. “That was hilarious!”

“Yeah but being on the lookout for the magic word whenever he’s around and ready to snap him out of it sort of takes the fun out of it,” Lee replied, some of Cam’s close calls still fresh in his mind.

“It shouldn’t be possible for someone to have a permanently altered state as exhibited by Mr. Martinez without the use of hypnotherapy,” noted Lisa from the Kid’s Table. “Not even the CIA has been able to produce such results.”

“Anyway, what's new with my favorite neighbors?” Dr. Ping inquired, hiding some discomfort from Lisa's assessment. “I've been out of the loop for a while, and I’d love to know what I missed.” Dr. Ping could've sworn that his wife’s brow furrowed as he spoke.

“Well, Mr. Ping,” Leni began, “I was totes going to be in this year's Total Drama season, but Mom and Dad said no.”

“We just don’t want to see you hurt, honey,” Mrs. Loud reiterated. “That show is infamous for their unsafe challenges.”

“You’re being too nice, Rita,” Mrs. Ping commented. “That show is a legal deathtrap; I’d rather my students fail than go on that show! Not that I want any of you to take me up on that.”

“Of course, Mrs. Ping,” Leni answered. “I’m just glad that I’m finally a sophomore.”

“And, I’m glad that you’ve improved, as well,” Mrs. Ping acknowledged before turning her attention the Kid’s Table. “And congrats to your little tutor for actually teaching and not just giving you the answers.”

Lisa said nothing but blushed at the praise.

“If only _someone else_ would show as much interest in academics and extracurriculars that’s proportional to their grades,” the teacher-parent not-so-subtly called out her son.

“Come on, Mom,” Lee sighed. “I’ve got time to do that when I’m Lori’s age.”

“Don’t use me as an excuse to cruise through high school, Lee,” Lori shot back. “I’m involved with a lot of things; it’s just that few of them ever take place at school.”

“Hang on now, dudes,” Luna chimed in. “Lee and I still have our duo act, so that’s something, right?”

“True,” the rest of the diners confirmed that that was indeed something.

“And just you wait,” Luna began to boast, “When we play the Battle of the Bands, we’ll be up to necks in gigs!”

“But, if you don’t win, it will just be a _Loud Ping_ to be forgotten,” Luan jested, though she seemed to regret it from the look that Lee gave her. “Just messing with you guys.”

“Speaking of big developments,” Mr. Loud announced. “The Loud House is going to have another mouth to feed!”

The Pings collectively dropped their forks in shock. This prompted Luan & Lynn the younger to get into a fit of laughter.

“You should really consider your phrasing, Lynn,” Mrs. Ping chided her husband. “What he meant is that my father is going be staying with us.”

“Wow, is everything alright with Big Al?” Dr. Ping asked.

“Not really,” Mrs. Loud admitted. “His retirement home has been put under investigation for abuse charges, and he didn’t want to stay with Aunt Ruth.”

“I’m so sorry, Rita,” Dr. Ping sympathized. “I just hope you have the room.”

“We’ll be heading back to Royal Woods to pick him up next week, but we might need some help,” Mr. Loud added. “Not with the move, the older ones have it covered.”

“Darn straight,” Lynn Jr. grinned before flexing and kissing her biceps.

“It’s just that Lincoln and the little ones need to be babysat for that time,” Mr. Loud continued. “I don’t suppose you could do us a solid?”

“Wait a minute,” Lincoln managed to have a say, “How come I wasn’t asked to babysit?”

“It’d be just too much to ask of you, son,” Mr. Loud answered. “We’re going to be away for most of the weekend.”

“We’d be happy to help,” Mrs. Ping accepted.

The entirety of the Kids’ Table gave a collective sigh, though Lucy literally said the word “sigh”. Knowing the no-nonsense household of their new charges, this would prove to be a dull weekend.

“Hey, everyone,” Lee drew all eyes to him. “After dinner, I’ve got something that I wanted to give you all.”

“Can’t we see it now?” Lola whined.

“It’s best to be shown without the risk of food stains,” the partial-redhead declared.

–☲–

As the two families gathered in the Louds’ living room after cleaning up their food, Lee stood in front of the TV with his portfolio cases flanked on each side of him, just about ready dispense with the gifts. “Thank you for being here, everyone,” he began.

“Where else would we be? We just had dinner,” Luan goofed before being harshly shushed by everyone else.

“It’s been ten years since you’ve all come to the neighborhood,” Lee continued. “In fact, a lot of you were even born here. As time passed, I’ve felt that we’ve grown close enough to be like family ourselves, and it’s in that spirit that I give these to you in no particular order (I swear).”

Lee dug into the case on his right and took out a large manila envelope that had the words “For Lola” written on it. “Maybe this will inspire your future pageant outfits?”

Out of the envelope was a portrait of Lola Loud in a pink, poofy princess dress, bordered by pink ribbons and chrysanthemum flowers, with a fairy tale castle in the background and her name in cursive letters above her.

“Eeeeeee!” Lola squealed in delight and ran towards Lee to get a better look of her portrait. “Is this really mine to keep?”

“Yep,” Lee answered. “They’re all for you guys put wherever you like.”

“And before you ask,” Dr. Ping whispered to the much younger genius next to him, “I’ve treated them with a coating that should protect the art from Loud House-levels of wear-&-tear.”

“That is quite the astute precaution considering my familial unit’s destructive nature,” Lisa affirmed his decision. “Of course, who am I to talk?”

After handing off the gift to the pageant princess of the family, Lee continued by pulling out another envelope; this one had “For Mr. & Mrs. Loud” written on it.

“For the heads of my family that I see as Aunt and Uncle,” Lee announced with some embarrassment, earning a playful chuckle from both sets of parents, before making the reveal.

This dual portrait consisted of the heads of the Loud household dressed up like a king and queen duo with regal robes matching their usual shirt colors (Mr. Loud: primarily sea green, secondarily light green; Mrs. Loud: cerise pink, white) and seated on thrones. On Mr. Loud’s side, his crown was shaped like a chef’s hat; the top of his scepter had a cooking knife, and his throne seemed to consist of various ingredients just waiting to be prepared into a dish. On Mrs. Loud’s side, her tiara was shaped like the tip of a fountain pen; her scepter’s top resembled a writer’s quill, and her throne was constructed from books that seemed to be written by its occupant. The parent’s full names, Lynn Loud Sr. and Rita Loud, were emblazoned on the top of their respective thrones.

“Wow, Lee,” Mrs. Loud managed to make out in shocked happiness, “I’m at a loss for words.”

“I haven’t seen such a flattering version of myself before in my life,” Mr. Loud sighed happily while receiving the art-piece from his honorary nephew.

“Yours was a little… dark for me, Lucy”, Lee announced hesitantly after he pulled out an envelope that had this Loud child’s name on it.

The art piece was considerably dark in both elements and composition, as Lucy was depicted as lying in a crimson silk-lined, black coffin. She was dressed in a gothic dress that harkened to Victorian-era fashion; her top incisors protruded from her mouth in a resemblance to vampire fangs (which was the vibe Lee intended), and her eyes seemed to have a red glow emanating through her jet-black bangs. The girl’s name was written in a red script that had dripping effects reminiscent to blood.

Most of the Loud family seemed paralyzed in fear. They even jumped when Lucy, the sole outlier, seemingly got the picture and returned to her seat in a matter of moments.

“This painting fills my dark heart with immense joy,” the goth girl monotoned with the slightest hint of a smile. “Thank you so much, Lee.”

“You’re welcome,” Lee smiled back to mask his fear before pulling out another envelope with Lisa’s name. “And now for the residential genius.”

Lisa’s portrait had the young prodigy surrounded by various scientific equipment and standing in front of a blackboard covered in math equations. The girl in question was dressed in a lab coat that covered a sweater that was like the real thing but with “E=MC^2” emblazoned diagonally like a sash; her glasses had some technological additions that seemed to obscure her eyes from view. The weird thing is that her name didn’t appear to be present anywhere.

Lisa stepped up to receive her painting and closely examined it. “Impressive, adjacent domicile inhabitant,” she praised in her own way. “The calculations are accurate, and you managed to hide my name in a creative cipher among them.”

“Just figured you’d appreciate the extra details,” Lee told her as she went back to her seat before pulling out the latest envelope. “Next up is Lynn.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see this!” Lynn grinned in anticipation.

The new portrait has the young sports star standing atop a mountain composed of gold medals with a red and white flag as a background. Her attire consisted of similarly colored tracksuit; her pose consisted of pointing her right hand up with the index finger sticking out, and her pompous energy exuded from her prideful smile. Her name was bright and bold against the flag.

“I didn’t realize you were psychic, Lee,” Lynn praised while retrieving the art piece. “Either way, I’m using this as motivation. Thanks!”

 _What have I done?_ Lee thought to himself, concerned that he stroked the athlete’s ego to levels previously unheard. He recollected himself and took out an envelope with Luan’s name on it.

“Well,” Luan spoke up, “Let’s see it; I’m practically _Lee-Ping_ with anticipation. _Hahahahahahaha!_ Get it?”

The room was suddenly filled with combined groans by every other soul in the room, especially the Pings. Not even Mrs. Ping’s sense of humor would tolerate it; Lee to this day wished Luan never knew his name.

Luan’s portrait had the girl taking up left of the frame in front of a brick-wall backdrop. She was dressed in a yellow pantsuit, held a microphone in her right hand and a cigar (engraved with the word “Chocolate”) in the left, and was in a pose akin to a certain popular human-sized rabbit. On the right of the frame was a speech balloon that said “Luan’t seen nuthin’ yet; you’ll laugh out Loud!” with the words stacked up vertically.

The picture clearly tickled the Loud comedienne’s funny bone. “I should’ve known, unlike what I’m going to do this baby, that you wouldn’t leave me hanging.”

“Well, comedy is supposed to mess with expectations,” Lee smugly explained.

“So, true,” Luan agreed as she took her picture with him.

With that out of the way, Lee brought out the next envelope. “Lana, try to keep this clean please?”

“I make no promises,” the tomboy twin stated bluntly, though her demeanor would change with the reveal.

This picture has Lana inside of a stylized Yin Yang symbol where one side was filled with various flora and fauna, and the other had mechanical elements that leaned on the inner-workings of modern appliances and vehicles. The girl was dressed in coveralls that was covered in a different kind of grime based on where she fell in the symbol; she had her arms crossed with each hand holding a tool that corresponded in their respective environments (binoculars in the “nature” side; screwdriver in the “industry” side). In lieu of opposite dots within the symbol, both parts of her name occupied those spots (“Lana” written in metallic script within the nature side in the upper left part of the frame near her shoulder; “Loud” in grass-dirt script in the industry side in the lower right part near her leg).

“Well?” Lee asked smugly as the Loud girl came to receive her portrait.

“I’ll do my best,” Lana replied reluctantly as it finally dawned on her that she’d need to clean up her act a bit, unaware that the Ping boy already took precautions and just wanted to mess with her.

“For the sister that looks out for all of us,” Lee announced, having taken out the envelope containing Lori’s picture.

“Now this, I’ve got to see,” Lori chirped up, putting away her phone.

The eldest Loud sister’s portrait appeared simple enough with a golf course as the background. Lori was dressed in a yellow polo shirt, green skirt, and a sky-blue visor; she held a golf club in her left hand and a massive trophy in the right. The clouds above her spelled out her name, and she had a massive smile on her face. One odd inclusion was a shadowy figure whose face was obscured by the trophy; whoever they were was holding a sign that read “Marry Me!”

“As good as this is,” Lori pondered while pointing at the silhouette, “who is that supposed to be?”

“Well, you kept telling us about that boyfriend of yours none of us got to see, so I figured he’d get some recognition too,” Lee answered. “I could remake it with him in full if you’re willing to share.”

“Nice try, twerp,” the girl playfully denied her neighbor access to her personal life while walking back to her seat with her gift.

“Almost had it,” Lee cursed to himself then proceeded to the next envelope. “Leni, you’re up.”

“Up for what?” Leni asked, making her confusion known. Lee had to resist the urge to smack his head and just unveiled her portrait.

This picture brought back the fairy tale motif with a modern twist by having Leni dressed as a fairy, using her wand to transform roles of fabrics into impressive, fashionable clothing. The backdrop was a fashion design studio, and one outfit was being formed with floating tools for the craft. Rather than a regular dress, Leni’s attire had a seafoam pantsuit with glass-like butterfly wings emerged from her back as she flew to tend to her work. Below her person was her name beautifully decorated in glitter to resemble fairy dust.

“This is really good, Lee,” Leni complimented, “but I totes think I could make better clothes than these.”

“Understood,” Lee stated flatly as he handed the painting to the unexpected critic. After regaining his composure, he proceeded to take out the next envelope which was addressed to the baby of the family. “I’m sure you’ll grow to appreciate this, Lily.”

Lily perked up from her mother’s lap, naturally curious of what the boy with the strange hair had in store for her.

This painting had a simple yet meta appeal as the baby girl was making a painting of her family. She was dressed in a lavender smock that enveloped her body below her head, holding a paintbrush and an artist palette with 13 different paint dollops, and had the biggest, bubbliest smile one would ever see. And by feet was Lily’s name written in the style of paint splattering.

To show her praise, Lily loudly clapped and laughed. In response, Lee brought the portrait to her parents and rustled her hair, earning him another laugh from him.

“Lee?” Luan piped up, being suspicious. “Are you sure you didn’t plan the order on the unveiling?”

“Hey,” Lee defended. “I shuffled these several times to be fair. If you want to blame anyone, blame the Writer.”

“Who?”

“Never mind,” Lee sighed and just took out the next envelope; a smile grew on his face as he turned towards the sole Loud son. “Lincoln, I think your really going to like this one.”

Free from its covering, Lincoln’s portrait closely resembled a superhero comic book cover. His costume resembled the appearance of the boy’s favorite superhero, Ace Savvy, but its usual red was replaced with Lincoln’s signature orange. The scenery was a city backdrop where the boy seemed to be flying above it. “Lincoln Loud is Ace Savvy” was written in the usual cover format with a perfect recreation of the Ace Savvy trademark.

“This is amazing, _hyeong_!” Lincoln commended as he approached. “Though, I am curious as to how I become Ace in this thing.”

“Well, maybe Ace decided to pass on his power to someone he found worthy,” Lee answered. “Someone that’s got the heart of a hero. Someone like my little bro,” He added while putting his free hand on Lincoln’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” Lincoln replicated the smile of his portrait’s before heading back to his seat.

“Guess that leaves oh lonesome me,” Luna playfully summed up.

“Again, it’s a total coincidence on my part,” Lee stated with a sly grin before unveiling his final piece.

This meticulously crafted work depicted the musical Loud girl performing an intense solo on her color-coordinated guitar. She was also singing her heart out with an open-mouthed smile. A concert stage was the setting with silhouettes of indistinct band members behind her and the raised fists of the audience below her. And the final touch was Luna’s name in the form of lights atop the stage.

“Well?” Lee asked the stunned rocker girl. “What do you think?”

It was Lee’s turn to be shocked when Luna answered his question with a kiss on the cheek. “How’s that for a seal of approval?” she smirked.

Both sets of parents exchanged knowing looks while the rest of the Loud siblings gave reactions that varied from “Aw” to “Ew”.

This caused Lee and Luna to separate from each other (with the painting now in the latter’s hands), blushing heavily.

“Well, they’re never gonna let us live this down, huh?” Lee sighed.

“Preaching to the choir, luv,” Luna agreed.

–☲–

Inside his quarters, the boy with teal-flecked hair was sitting on his bed, bouncing a ball against the wall. Now that it has since been cleaned of the botched face-painting, the boy’s frustration could be seen in his Eurasian features. _This is all too weird_ , he thought. _They’re right here, but we can’t just go up to them. There’s so much that I want to ask them, but they don’t have the answers yet. Especially the big question: just how did they all_ —

“Hey, Stink-breath,” interrupted the girl with the scarlet skunk-stripe as she stepped into the room. “How are you holding up?”

“Just thinking about how crazy this all is,” Teal-Flecks shared. “The stuff we were only told in stories are going to happen while we’re here.”

“Good luck trying to get an eyewitness of the stuff,” Scarlet-Stripe lectured. “Agent Chrono-Flower was very lenient on allowing us to attend that party. And even then, we were still lectured for directly interacting with our aunts.”

“Hey, at least I wasn’t the one who got in touch with one of the two who could’ve exposed us, miss ‘What’s one fortune telling session going to do?’,” Teal-Flecks shot back.

“Fine, you’ve made your point,” Scarlet-Stripe sighed. “I’m just as curious as you, but we’ve got to play it safe for now.”

“We crossed the line of safety by just joining this mission; why can’t we get a closer look?” Teal-Flecks whined.

“We have to let the events play out naturally or else we might end fading out of existence, like in that ancient movie,” Scarlet-Stripe asserted. “Besides, how could we even explain our family situation when it hasn’t even been legalized yet?”

“I figured that we could at least tell Dad,” Teal-Flecks shrugged. “At least his reaction would be hilarious no matter how he takes it.”

“Can’t you take any of this seriously?!” Scarlet-Stripe yelled, visibly frustrated by her fraternal twin.

A knock on the door interrupted the sibling feud, followed by the entry of their swarthy compatriot in orange-black dreads. “Luke? Leia? Good, you’re both here,” he said, “Agent Chrono-Flower has an update for us.”

“Don’t think this is over,” the newly dubbed Leia growled at Luke before exiting the room.

“You’ve been talking about messing with the timeline, haven’t you?” Orange-Dreads asked Luke rhetorically.

Luke’s answer was an awkward smile to which Orange-Dreads could only respond by shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, this was tough to churn out. Feel free to leave a review and/or constructive criticism; I'd really appreciate it.


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